Needing something
by The-Algebraist
Summary: For years Ayame has watched happy faces eat at their store. Slowly those faces stop coming back. Ayame feels these loses more than people know. One night Kakashi Hatake is eating ramen after hours. Teuchi has something to talk about.
1. Too young to feel this old

**Too young to feel this old.**

The ramen store had been officially closed for half an hour already yet still old man Teuchi sat at its counter with one of its patrons. Only the two of them tonight, the beautiful young girl who often served, the old man's daughter, had been sent home a long time ago.

"So, what age did you graduate then?" the question had been expected but it always brought back memories. Weathered eyes watched and waited for an answer.

"Five" Kakashi replied exhaling, that number disturbed him.

"Sad." The old man said.

The lethal man he now sat next to had been eating ramen in his store since only a year after graduating from the academy, yet he knew next to nothing about him.

"You were promoted quiet quick I've been told. Father was a genius, suppose you are too?" he continued. Feeling strangely content, Kakashi obliged.

"I'm the youngest ever to graduate from the academy, youngest ever Chunin at six. I've been a Jonin for more than half of my life." His visible eye turned towards Teuchi and watched him stare at the counter.

"You've seen some terrible things then" The reply was never a question.

"The worst." The Jonin added. "But better that we see and do them, so you never have to."

Teuchi flinched visibly. The old man was holding something back these questions were going somewhere. Kakashi had a bad feeling about where.

"What's this about, Teuchi-san?" The stool creaked quickly as it quarter turned to face the other man. Kakashi crossed his arms and cocked his head.

"Ayame."

Understanding came.

"She is too old." Kakashi offered. Academy students generally started at four and the oldest graduate was thirteen. Ayame was a good five years passed that, her eighteenth birthday only a season ago.

"So she has been told." The old man had not cheered much more. Hurt still creased his face and fear weighed his shoulders. "She has been told that she can only enter the academy for its last year, and the exam of course."

"She would have to find a trainer for the first part. It could be anything from a year to three, depending on how fast she learns. No Chunin would be permitted to train her; their role extends only as far as operational leaders."

The old man's body slumped a little and he nodded as each fact was stated, he'd heard all this before. Finally he spoke, finishing what he assumed Kakashi would tell him next.

"It would have to be Jonin." Teuchi turned at last to face Kakashi, he looked hopeless and lost. The famous Ichiraku smile was nowhere to be seen. "All Jonin have or are being assigned teams to take care of, Genin teams. The ones left after that will be doing the village's share of high level missions."

Kakashi felt that Teuchi needed to hear things from a different point of view. There were more reasons that his daughter should not enter the world of shadow and steel; more important reasons, in Kakashi's opinion.

"It may be better that way." Kakashi began, "Ayame-chan has lived for eighteen years in relative peace. A job, parents and friends. Time to do the things she loves and time to herself. Your daughter has had the childhood that many of us will never know. She's got too much to lose if she becomes a ninja. We don't miss it, because we never had it. Ayame has."

"You don't understand," A new voice. Teuchi had no time to reply or give a reaction to Kakashi's words. Ayame was standing in the open curtain to the stall. Tears shone briefly as they caught the moonlight and then she turned and dashed down the street.

The old man turned to plead with the Jonin but he was already gone, leaving only a puff of smoke and some leaves in his wake.


	2. Needing Something

**Needing something.**

A slightly hysterical running eighteen year old is not-surprisingly easy to follow. That is exactly what Kakashi Hatake had done. He decided that it was better to let her work off her anger off before he tried to speak to her.

Ayame had made her way to one of the training grounds just slightly outside of Konoha. When she'd settled down she had done something that both surprised and intrigued the Jonin. The girl began to hum. The melody was a clever picked one he thought. Simple rhythm.

After a few bars she pushed herself to her feet and settled her entire body into a solid position. Like a statue she stood there, no muscles moving holding her pose. Then she danced. It was a strange change, but one he understood well.

She went from unchanging safety to the opposite safety, the reassurance of perpetual change. Not once did her body fully stop during her dance. To his own horror Kakashi found himself analysing this. The constant motion supplied a constant kinetic energy and a conservation of stamina. Easy movements meant little effort.

She danced like he fought.

"_sakura sakura, noyama mo sato mo, miwatasu kagiri, kasumi ka kumo ka, asahi ni niou, sakura, sakura, hana zakari"_

A voice like bells and chimes filled the air. A strong voice that knew the meaning of what it sang. A voice that pushed itself into the notes. Ayame stopped her humming. Bemused she turned to find a figure dropping off a nearby wooden post.

"K-Kakashi-san!" she managed the first few steps towards him before she stopped herself. "That was you singing?" a surge of affection flushed her face and she was glad that he could not see her properly. His voice was incredible.

"My mother used to sing that to me." The Jonin did not really intent to tell her that. "Or so the fourth would say."

The girl cocked her head to the side apparently surprised. Maybe she had not known that his Sensei had been the fourth Hokage. Questions seemed to play behind her eyes, she was so different now than she was behind the counter.

Kakashi spoke first.

"What don't I understand, Ayame-san?"

"Every day I see smiling faces. I see them come into the stall and eat and then leave. Some days I see new faces that I haven't seen before. Other days I see old faces that don't come back. There have been more and more of those faces. Each time someone that I've come to know or enjoy seeing disappears a part of me wants this."

Kakashi made no sign at all. Impassive he just stood there listening, with his hands in his pockets and his eye fixed on the young girl.

"I know that I could be killed, I know that I could lose everything I have. But can't that happen anyway? I mean if we are attacked I can't even defend myself. My father is a strong man, but he is old and no ninja. I need to be able to do this for me."

Ayame flung her hands above her head in exasperation and turned away from the Jonin. It wasn't his fault and she knew, but it was good to get it all off of her chest. There was silence for a while and then fearing that he had left, the ramen girl turned to find him eye-smiling at her.

"You know," he said and scratched the back of his head, "not _all_ the Jonin have active duty."

- Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms, Blanketing the countryside, As far as you can see. Is it a mist, or clouds? Fragrant in the morning sun. Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms, Flowers in full bloom.


	3. I'm your shadow

**I'm your shadow.**

"One chicken yakisoba, one been chilli ramen and a milk" the voice filled the small stall; it was not harsh but still held authority. A moment later the words "thank you" were returned in tandem. Iruka new both voices, though couldn't place one, and found himself peering through the kitchen curtain.

Ayame-chan smiled shyly back at him just as he suspected and a flourish of chilli powder later she had vanished, only to be replaced by someone who was momentarily obscured by the swaying curtain.

Dressed entirely in white, even the trade mark mask was replaced to match, one of the fiercest ninja Iruka had ever heard of tossed fried chicken pieces amongst noodles in the wok. A whoomp of flame startled him out of his days in time to watch the yakisoba be dumped on a plate and the Jonin disappear again.

"Uh, is that Kakashi? You know, masked and dangerous, in your kitchen?" Iruka asked.

The meal came to rest unnoticed before him and only when Teuchi-sama spoke was Iruka reminded he had a meal to eat. Teuchi smiled simply and made a show of looking through the curtain in a double take.

"Looks like him to me," the ramen man offered.

"Where are you going anyway?" Tsunade asked, the I'm-the-hokage-dammit glare already in full force.

"I've got something important to do, that I've put off for way too long," Jiraiya replied ominously.

Tsunade sighed and placed her head on her hands and thought for a moment. Ink dried on the papers before her and she considered letting it all dry in before doing anymore work. That was more than a bad idea, that was a headache waiting to happen. If _she _figured out there'd be hell to listen to.

Jiraiya watched as the Hokage decided what to do and as the name Shizune sounded in an obvious summons the Divine Hermit vanished. Not too far though, he stopped abruptly on the roof and surveyed his surroundings.

"Hm. It's been way too long since my last masterpiece. I'll need some prime research to ensure that the next will be up to scratch."

On each of his fingers the red clad sannin marked off all the places he could think of, but new better not to go. Girls baths, masseuse, underwear stores, the lake in eastern Konoha, Tsunade's room, Shizune's room, Training ground 4(Tamachi-sensei's Jonin Kunoichi squad) had all be counted out as too dangerous to his health when something struck him.

It had been a long time since he used _that_ jutsu. Granted any ninja worth their bingo book would spot him and he'd be done for. If he used it he could at least go to one of the previously no go areas. So it was that after a flourish of hand signs Jiraiya shimmered into his Cloaking Jutsu and made for the lake.

No need to hide in bushes when his Jutsu allowed people to see through him. The roofs on the street above the city lake were the perfect place for his research. Happily he knelt at the edge and removed his looking(spying) glass.

Instantly he dropped it down and looked around rapidly. This was too good, it must be a trap, someone had to be watching him. Ayame-san was swimming in the lake! The Ichiraku girl was in the lake with a pair of bikini bottoms and a white t-shirt on!

"Jeeeeaaaaaackpot" Jiraiya howled and struck his hermit stance.

As fast as he good he dropped into a bleary eyed cross legged sitting pose and raised the glass back to his eye. The girl sway back and forth, occasionally she would roll and do the backstroke.

"What perfect curves," her now adult torso stretching as she swam. "The small and round shrine of her epically attractive rear end."

Once more he looked around to be sure he wasn't caught. What was he thinking, he was Jiraiya the Divine Hermit and Legandary Sannin. No one could catch him!

Eye glass back to his face he continued his research

"Hm. What long legs, longer than I remember." He adjusted the glass up to get a better look, hoping against hope that she'd do that wonderful back stroke again. As the glass raised a fraction Jiraiya froze.

Those legs weren't just longer, they where thicker. And the top of those legs did more certainly not lead to a shrine of womanly buttocks but to a hard ass of man! There was someone in there with her!

"...kakashi?" Jiraiya breathed in awe.

**AN: I swear this will all be perfectly explained in the next chapter More ninja stuff to come. Thanks for the reviews and any more that this may get. It's always useful to know someone likes it.**


	4. Of Dog Biscuits

**Of Dog Biscuits**

An unfamiliar noise dragged her out of the pink fluffiness of half-sleep, the glorious comfort in the moments before you resolve yourself to become fully awake. It was not that different to something hard beating against something metal.

Ayame sat up in bed, the noise still ringing her ears, and noticed that she could see nothing in the total darkness that her thick curtains allowed her bedroom. Panic very slowly begging to worm it's way into her consciousness she pulled the cloth of her bed over her bare body.

"Who's there?" her hands reached to her left side and towards her bedside table, more specifically the light.

"Me" was the monosyllabic reply.

There was a click and then a sharp intake of breath as the flare of light surprised her. With a squint she looked around the room to find the source of her torment. The shadow against her wall solidified into a hazy but distinguished image of a man.

Blank stares.

Kakashi looked back at her, finally stopping the banging; his expression showed he clearly expected her to understand what was going on. In return she stared at him blankly half because if she reacted she would be prancing out of bed at him, naked mind you, fists flaring. The other half was because Kakashi Hatake was standing in her bedroom holding a dog bowl and an oversized dog biscuit.

"How did you-" she began.

"Jonin," he chimed, eye smiling over the dog biscuit.

"Why are you-" she tried again.

"I spent a day in your life," he said, almost to himself as he remembered all the things of the day before. "Now it's time for you, to spend a day in mine."

"What do you mean a day in your life?" Ayame had pulled the quilt up tight around her reflexively; she expected the window to be open and thus her room to be full of cold air. Assumptions are often wrong, as was this one. Kakashi had clearly been in and closed the window a long time.

"The best way to get to know someone is to see how their daily life affects them. The best way to understand how someone will react in a given situation is to understand how they get into that situation."

The Jonin seemed to remember that he was holding something and with a few quick hand signs his make shift alarm clock disappeared.

"I've observed you in your life and come to understand what I think you are good and bad at. Hopefully I'll be able to use this in your training."

Carefully Ayame stood up and wrapped herself in her bed cloths. She regarded the ninja for a moment mentally sorting the things he had said. It was far too early in the morning for any kind of quick or decisive thought.

"Get out so I can get dressed," she decided was the best response. The tone of her words was flat but not harsh, tiredness not fully let go of her mind. The young ramen girl blinked a few times to clear the sleep from her eyes, when she stopped Kakashi was gone.

The quilt dropped to the floor, and she made her way to the bathroom.

An hour later there was a rasping knock on her bed room door. Quickly she finished putting on the rest of her clothes and then dropped down on to her bed.

"You can come in now" she called.

The door opened and Kakashi took two steps inside, Teuchi could be seen beaming a broad smile in the hallway behind him. Ayame fixed most of her hair into a tail behind her and left bangs at the front of her face – wet, they still dripped on her carpet.

"Awake now?" the Jonin asked, his voice sounding alert and pleasant.

"Yeah," she stood up and looked in the mirror. "All I have to do now is get some breakfast and I'm ready to go."

"Afraid not." The voice behind her chirped.

Turning her back to the mirror she looked in what could only be described as horror at eye-smiling man before her. How could she be expected to perform a day's work on an empty stomach? Unfazed by her gaze Kakashi tipped his head back and told her to grab a hold of him.

Hesitantly she slipped her arm through his – he had not bothered to remove his hands from his pockets. A weird tingling sensation washed over her – did she image her bed quilts ruffling? In truth Kakashi was generating a larger amount of Chakra than normal, a small part of it he used to grip Ayame's arm to his not unlike the water walking ability.

"This is going to be uncomfortable."

With no further warning they both disappeared in a puff of smoke, Teuchi grinned profusely at watching his daughter vanish on the arm of a Jonin. They landed softly in the grass only a meter or so away from the village Memorial Stone moments later.

Ayame was held across Kakashi in his arms, unconscious from the shock of travel so fast. Carefully he set her on the dirt and shook her once to wake her up. At first it took a while for her to focus, she was still unsure of where she was and why.

Things made sense when her eyes came to focus and a tall slender figure stood before her, slouching with his back to her with his hands in his pockets.

"Sorry about that. But it's something you'll have to get used to," he let out a long breath – probably for effect, "If you want to be a ninja."

It was not uncommon for ninja to disappear like that, but it was the first time she had actually experienced it before. It was more impressive when you realise just how _fast_ they can actually move. Still a little dazed it was with a bit of effort the ramen girl stood and stepped next to Kakashi.

"This is where I start my day, every day." He said, and said nothing for the next hour.

Silently he was explaining to his old friend why he had decided to take this upon himself. Shamefully he admitted that part of the reason was that Ayame-chan's determination and justification reminded him so much of Rin. Obito could understand that.

Proudly the other part of him realised that he had a duty to project the village. Here was a girl with potential, an already suited and developed physic for the training he'd give her. It would be a waist to let such a potentially good ninja go, he would make sure she was safe. Yondaime-sama could relate.

"Tomorrow we will start your lessons," his voice seemed from the silence, more than broke it.

Ayame almost failed to notice he had spoken.

"We start from the beginning, the theory before the practice. But for today you'll shadow me. "

He removed his hand from his pocket and offered her his arm.

"Now let's go see the Hokage."


End file.
